CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers followed up two season-opening wins with a couple blowout losses. In Week 5, they had one bad half and one great half in a win over the Chicago Bears.

The Cincinnati Bengals started the year with three wins and were the NFL’s last unbeaten team. They then were embarrassed by 26 points at New England last Sunday night.

So what will happen when the Panthers and Bengals meet this weekend in Cincinnati? Who knows?

“The league is up and down this year. We’re a prime example,” Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said. “We play good our first two weeks; we play bad our second two weeks, and then we play good again. I think the league is evolving because of the way player movement is today.”

Parity helped the NFL become biggest behemoth in American sports, but it seems even harder to pick out the top teams in the league this year. Rivera believes an increased shuffling of free agents has led to most rosters being in a state of flux, and that has led to the greater unpredictability.

The Bengals’ loss to the Patriots meant that for just the second time since 1971, not a single team started off 4-0. And it’s not like Cincinnati even put up much of a fight on Sunday night.

“I think obviously we got our feelings hurt. We got our nose rubbed in it,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis admitted on a conference call with Carolina media on Wednesday.

While they attempt to keep the wheels from starting to fall off, the Bengals may need to get through at least this week without star receiver A.J. Green. He was carted off early in Wednesday’s practice after re-aggravating a toe injury that has been bothering him since Week 1.

But it does appear the Panthers will be facing Vontaze Burfict. The Pro Bowl linebacker returned to practice after a concussion forced him to miss the Bengals’ past two games.

When Rivera was informed of Green’s latest setback, the coach replied: “We preparing as if he’s playing.” Rivera then added, “I know Vontaze hasn’t played in the last couple weeks, but he’s a big part of what they do.”

The Panthers have their own injury issues at cornerback and running back. Corner nickel Bene Benwikere, who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Bears, will not play in Cincinnati, and outside corner Josh Norman is in the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Starting running back DeAngelo Williams will miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain, but Jonathan Stewart is going to try to return from a knee sprain he suffered in Week 3. If he cannot, Fozzy Whittaker could see the most work. He has not played since pulling a quad in Week 2, but last week’s starter, Darrin Reaves, missed Wednesday’s practice with a hip injury.

“Any moment and opportunity I get to be back on the field, I cherish and enjoy it,” Whittaker said. “You can’t take those types of moments for granted as I’ve already missed the past three weeks. But getting back out there on a Wednesday, in full pads, able to actually feel contact, it felt great.”

Whittaker is one of the few Panthers who have played at Paul Brown Stadium. While he was with Cleveland last year, he gained 61 total yards during a 41-20 loss in Week 11. That was part of the Bengals’ current franchise-record 11-game home win streak.

“They have great fans. The stadium is going to be rocking. It gets very loud, so communication is going to be key for us,” Whittaker said. “We just have to go in there and take the momentum from them.”

And while that may appear like a longshot considering Cincinnati has not lost at home since 2012, as this season is making abundantly clear yet again – anything can happen on any given week in the NFL.

SERIES HISTORY: 5th regular-season meeting. Series tied, 2-2. The Bengals have won the last two meetings, including a 20-7 victory during the Panthers’ 2-14 season in 2010.

–RB DeAngelo Williams will miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain.

–RB Jonathan Stewart, who has missed the last two games with a knee sprain, did not practice Wednesday. He said he expects to play on Sunday, but he added he thought the same thing last week.

–RB Darrin Reaves tweaked his hip late during Sunday’s win. He went back in after missing a few plays, but his status for the Bengals is unclear.

–TE Greg Olsen stayed inside to receive treatment on the ankle he tweaked during Sunday’s first half. He will play in Cincinnati.

–LT Byron Bell did not practice after he sprained a toe against the Bears. He is expected to practice Thursday.

GAME PLAN: The Panthers are still struggling to run the ball, which is unfortunate when you take the Bengals struggles to stop the run into consideration. Yet again, much of the pressure will be on quarterback Cam Newton to shoulder the load offensively. He had a season-high six carries against the Bears, and his production on the ground should continue to inch up. Newton could have his hands full with a Cincinnati defense that expects to have Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict back.

Defensively, the Panthers have to contain dynamic running back Giovani Bernard both on the ground and through the air. The Bengals have allowed quarterback Andy Dalton to be sacked just once in four games, mostly because he gets the ball off quickly. The Panthers need to find a way to get the Bengals in second-and-long and third-and-long situations so they can try to get some pressure on Dalton.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Panthers run defense, which snapped a two-game streak of allowing teams to rush for more than 100 yards, vs. Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, who is averaging 61.8 rushing yards per game: Nothing on the Panthers defense works unless then can stop the run, and while Bernard is multi-dimensional, the first thing the Panthers have to do is shut him down as a runner.

Panthers rushing offense, which is ranked 30th in the league, vs. Bengals run defense, which is ranked 27th: Cincinnati gives up an average of 140 rushing yards per game. Yet not only are the Panthers one of the worst teams in the NFL running the ball, but their banged-up backfield may not be able to take advantage of this Bengals’ weakness.